Wire brush holder



Jan. 15, 1946. F. FoGLlAsso WIRE BRUSH HOLDER Filed March 9, 1944 Patented Jan. 15, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WIRE BRUSH HOLDER Floyd Fogliasso, Arlington, Calif.

Application March 9, 1944, Serial No. 525,643

7 claims.

My invention relates to brushes, and relates in particular to a simple brush which may be power driven and which is capable of hard usage.

It is an object of the invention to provide a brush which may be attached to the end of a rotary member, such as a motor driven shaft, and which is adapted for cleaning surfaces of different types of material in an efficient and economical manner. For example, one form of my invention is especially adapted for cleaning the surfaces of metal tanks and for cleaning slag and metallic oxides from the surfaces of welded joints. It will be understood that the character of the material forming the surface to be cleaned or brushed will determine the character of material employed in the strands forming the brush elements of the brush assembly. For cleaning of slag and other substances from steel surfaces, the brush elements of my invention are made from durable and relatively thin steel wire, but other uses of the invention may require that the brush elements be made from soft wire, such as copper or brass, or from other soft material.

It is an object of the invention to provide a brush assembly` having simple brush elements which may be readily replaced by the workman. It is found that the severe usage imposed upon brushes of this type results in a relatively rapid wearing away of the strands, for example, wires, from which the brush is formed, the result being that the expense of replacing complete brushes becomes relatively large. In the use of my invention, the complete brush is not replaced when the brush becomes worn, but in a simple manner the workman may quickly replace worn brush elements in the hub or holder portion of thev brush which is substantially indestructible in ordinary use.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a brush assembly having a body with means for attaching it to a rotatable shaft, this body having at its forward end a recess and having a pin or core therein to form in the recess an annular chamber to receive the rear ends of a plurality of brush elements of simple form,there being means operative within the recess to securely lock the brush elements in place.

A further object of the invention is to provide a brush holder of the character indicated in the foregoing paragraph having a core member which is provided with radial projections to engage the inner ends of the Ibrush elements and hold these brush elements securely within the body until the core is removed ata time when it is desired to replace Worn brush elements with new brush elements.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple form of brush element comprising a bundle of strands, this bundle of strands being bent intermediate its ends so that the two halves of the bundle lie in adjacent relation, the bent portion at the rearward end of the bundle forming a, loop adapted to be engaged by means for securing the brush element in the holder for which it is intended.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification.

Referring to the drawing which is for illustrative purposes only,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a power driven brush device embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the brush assembly shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View showing the com-vv ponentelements of the brush assembly separated, for the purpose of illustrating the ease with which these parts are assembled.

The brushing device 5 shown in Fig. 1 consists of a portable motor 6 having a suitable handle 1 and having means 8 whereby power may be delivered to the motor 6. At the forward end of the motor there is a driven shaft 9 which supports the brush assembly I0, this brush assembly'lll comprising a plurality of brush units II which project forwardly from a holder body I2.

As shown in Fig. 2, the holder body I2 has a recess i3 at its forward end, and from its rearward end there extends an externally threaded projection I4 which screws into the internal threads I5 at the forward end of a connector I6 which also has internal threads I'I at its rearward end whereby the connector may be screwed onto the shaft 9 of the motor device 6. The holder body I2 has an axial opening I8 which extends from the bottom of the recess I3 to the rear face of the projection I4, and a pin or core I9 is removably dispo-sed within the body I2. This core I9 has a forward portion 20, the frontend 2I of which liesv ahead of or outside ofthe recess I3 and is expanded or enlarged so as to form at the front end of the core I9 a conical head. The core also has a rearward portion Z2' which extends through the axial opening I8 and has threads 23 to receive a nut 24 whichoccupies a position in the cavity of the connector I 6 when allof the parts are assembled as shown in Fig. 2.

The wall of core I9 is provided with radially extending protrusions, or fingers 25, which 1in,`

gers 25 are preferably in the form of flattened pins. In the form of the invention shown, there are four of the members 25 and each of these members 25 has a rearwardly faced shoulder 26 which is spaced from the bottom wall 21 of the recess I3.

Each of the brush elements II is made from a plurality of strands 30. These strands are selected in accordance with the service for which the brush is intended, They may be wires of square, flat, or round cross section. For general scouring and cleaning of iron or steel parts or wall surfaces, the strands 30 are made from tempered steel wire. Each brush element II is formed by taking a bundle of these strands 30 cut to a length substantially twice the length of the brush element II. The bundle of strands 3U is then bent intermediate the ends thereof, substantially at the center of the bundle, and one half of the bundle of strands is bent back so as to lie adjacent the other half of the bundle, and the strands of the two h-alves of the bundle are then twisted as shown atl in Fig. 2, and also in Fig. 3. The bending of the bundle of strands 30 forms at the rear end of the brush element II a loop 32 dening an opening 33'through which one of the members 25 may p roject. The brush elements II are of'such size with relation to the holder body'IZ and the forward portion 29 of the core i I9 as to substantially extend across the occupied portion of the annular space 35 within the body I2 externally of the forward portion 2l) of the core I9; l y

When it is desired to assemble the brush elements Il in the holder body I2, the parts of the brushv assembly are disassembled as shown in Fig. 3. The brush elements I I are then assembled around the forward portion 20 of the core I9 in such positions that the protrusions 25 will project through the openings 33 of the loops 32. The holder body I2 is then moved forwardly over this assemblage -of core and brush elements II so that the outer wall of the lbody I2 will enclose the rearward ends of the brush elements II and so that the rearward portion 22 of the core I9 will extend back through the axial opening i8 ofthe body I2. The nut 24 is then applied and then screwed up relatively tight so as to securely clamp. the brush elements II in place in the holder body I2 as shown in Fig, 2. The connector I5 is then screwed onto the projection I4, and the rbrush assembly is ready for use on the shaft 8 of the motor 6. W hen the brush assembly I0 is rotated at relatively high speed, the front ends of the strands I! will be swung outward by centrifugal force from the positions in which they are shown, and by suitable maneuvering of the entire assemblage 5 shown in Fig. 1, the strands may be brought into positions to engage the surface to be brushed or scoured.

It will be understood that even though the strands 30 are made ofA durable steel wire, they may wear down quite short in a relatively small time.A The workman may readily replace the Worn brush elements II by disassembling the parts as shown in Fig. 3 and reforming theassembly'with new brush elements as clearly indicated in theforegoing explanation.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a brush assembly of the character described; for attachment to the end of a rotating shaft, the, combination of: a connector having means at its rear end for connecting it to said shaftand having an internally threaded cavity atitsforward end; aholder 'body having a recess at its forward end and a threaded projection at its rearward end which screws into said cavity of said connector, there being an axial opening leading from said recess to the rear face of said projection; a plurality of brush elements,a each consisting of a bundle of strands bent intermediate the ends thereof so that the halves of the strands will lie in adjacent relation, said halves ofsaid strands being also twisted helically together so that a loop is formed at the rear end of said brush element; a core extending axially within said body and defining an annular space in said recess of said body to receive the rear ward ends of said brush elements, said core being enlarged at its forward end and having its rearward end extending through said axial opening of said body, said core having radially extending protrusions toengage said loops at the rear ends of said brush elements; and nut means threaded on the rearward extremities of said core to hold said core in said body.

2. In a brush holder of the character described, for attachment to the end of a rotating shaft, the combination of: a connector having means at its rear end for connecting it to said shaft and having an internally threaded cavity at its forward end; a holder body having a recess at its forward end and a threaded projection at its rearward end which screws into said cavity of said connector, there being an axial opening leading from said recess to the rear face of said projection; a core extending axially within said body and dening an annular space in said recess of said body to receive the rearward ends of said brush elements, said core being enlarged at its forward end and having its rearward end extending through said axial opening of said body, said core having radially extending protrusions provided with rearwardly faced shoulders which are spaced from the bottom of said recess; and nut meansV threaded on the rearward 'extremities of said core to hold said core in said body.

3. In a brush holder of the character described, for attachment to the end of a rotating shaft, the combination of a holder body having a recess at its forward end and being adapted to be connected to a rotating member; a core extending axially within said body and defining an annular space in said recess of said body to receive the rearward ends of said brush elements, said -core being enlarged at its forward end and having radially extending protrusions provided with rearwardly faced shoulders which are spaced from the bottom of said recess; and means for locking said core in said body.

4. In a brush assembly of the character described, forY attachment to theend of a, rotating shaft, the combination of: a holder body having a recess at its forward end and being adapted to be connected to a rotating member; a plurality of brush elements, each consisting of a bundle of strands bent intermediate the ends thereof so that the halves of the strands will lie in adjacent relation, said halves of said strands being also twisted helically together so that a loop is formed at lthe rear end of said brush element; a core extending axially within said body and defining an annular space in said recess of said body to receive the rearward ends of said brush elements, said core being enlarged at its forward end and having radially extending protrusions to engage said loops at the rear ends of said brush elements; and means for locking said core in said body.

5. In a brush assembly of the character described, for attachment to the end of a rotating shaft, the combination of: a holder body having a recess at its forward end and being adapted to be connected to a rotating member; a plurality of brush elements, each consisting ofv a plurality of strands and each having an opening at its rearward end; a core extending axially within said body and defining an annular space in said recess of said body to receive the rearward ends of said brush elements, said core being enlarged at its forward end and having radially extending protrusions to engage said openings at the rear ends of said brush elements; and means for locking said core in said body.

6. In a brush -assembly of the character described, for attachment to the end of a rotating shaft, the combination of: a connector having means at its rear end for connecting it to said shaft and having an internally threaded cavity at its forward end; a holder body having a recess at its forward end and a threaded projection at its rearward end which screws into said cavity of said connector, there being an axial opening leading from said recess to the rear face of said projection; a plurality of brush elements, each consisting of a plurality of strands and each having an opening at its rearward end; a core extending axially within said body and defining an annular space in said recess of said body to receive the rearward ends of said brush elements, said core being enlarged at its forward end and having its rearward end extending through said axial opening of said body, said core having radially extending protrusions to engage said openings at the rear ends of said brush elements; and nut means threaded on the rearward extremities of said core to hold said core in said body.

7. In a brush assembly of the character described, for attachment to the end of a rotating shaft, the combination of: a connector having means at its rear end for connecting it to said shaft and having an internally threaded cavity at its forward end; a holder body having a recess at its forward end and a threaded projection at its rearward end which screws into said cavity of said connector, there being an axial opening leading from said recess to the rear face-of said projection; a plurality of brush elements,l each consisting of a bundle of strands bent intermediate the ends thereof so that the halves of the strands will lie in adjacent relation, said halves of said strands being also twisted helically together so that a loop is formed at the rear end of Asaid brush element; a core extending axially Within said body and defining an annular space in said recess of said body to receive the rearward ends of said brush elements, said core having its rearward end extending through said axial opening of said body, said core having radially extending protrusions to engage said loops at the rear ends of said brush elements; and nut means threaded on the rearward extremities ofV said core to hold said core in said body.

FLOYD FOGLIASSO. 

